New Year’s Eve Driving Tips: Staying Safe on the Roads

If you can stay off the road on New Year’s Eve, do so. New Years driving tips are a million deep, but staying in on this famously dangerous holiday is for the best. Either stay home and relax on the eve of the New Year, or stay wherever you plan on spending the evening. Lives are lost or forever changed more on this night than most others, and staying in is the best advice you’ll ever receive. If you insist on being out on New Year’s Eve, follow these New Years driving tips for your own personal safety.

Don’t Drink and Drive

It’s a simple piece of advice, but it’s one many people fail to ignore. Perhaps you assume there’s nothing wrong with a drink or two on this night, but you’re incorrect. With so many other drunk drivers on the road during, it’s imperative to either skip drinking entirely or don’t drive if you do. You need your senses completely intact, and any drinking is a poor choice. It’s one of the simplest New Years driving tips.

Find a Driver

If you insist on drinking on New Year’s Eve, find a designated driver. Uber, Lyft, yellow cab services, a parent, a sober friend, or your pregnant friend can be your driver on New Year’s Eve. You can even call AAA if you’re a member. The company offers free rides home to anyone who needs them on New Year’s Eve so they can do their part to keep the roads safe.

Don’t Drink

Going out on New Year’s Eve is a big deal, but you don’t have to drink. If you have to drive yourself home or you don’t trust your designated driver to make the right choice, do yourself a favor and stay sober. You can still have fun without imbibing, and reminding yourself you’re doing the right thing is priceless. Drink mocktails if you want to enjoy something to drink.

Leave Right After Midnight

It’s not safe to be on the road at all this night, but it’s safest to leave right after the New Year arrives. Most people stay and drink until bars and restaurants and parties close, and that’s the most dangerous time to be on the road. Most bars close around 2 am, so make it your plan to be home before the drunkest partiers leave for home on January 1.

Make Sure Your Car is Well-Maintained

Driving sober isn’t going to save your life if your car isn’t well maintained. Be sure your tires aren’t bald and they’re properly inflated. Be sure you have changed your oil, and be sure you have an emergency kit in your car. If your engine light is on, get it checked out. The best chance you have of safety on this night is a safe car, a sober driver, and the knowledge to handle mechanical issues before they cause an accident or major problem. It helps to prepare your car for winter driving, too.

Eliminate Distractions

Being the designated driver is fun when you get to watch your friends make fools of themselves and remember it in the morning, but it’s distracting. If you are the driver, be sure you have no distractions. This means turning down the music, and it means making sure your friends are behaving in the vehicle. Everyone needs a seatbelt, too.

Drive Your Kids

If your kids are going out on New Year’s Eve, drive them. You’ll feel much more comfortable with their plans for the evening if you’re the person responsible for their safety. The best idea is to stay home and together as a family, but it’s not always what people want. Be responsible for your own kids, no matter how old they are.

The best New Years driving tips include staying home, and that’s followed closely by staying sober. It’s a dangerous night to be on the road, but these tips should increase your chances of staying safe until you’re able to get home. You do want to live to see another year.